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The Zurich Opera House announced on Tuesday that Anna Netrebko will not be performing in March.
Already on the day following Putin’s invasion, the first demands were made to immediately terminate the engagement with Netrebko for two performances at the end of March in the Zurich Opera House.
20min/Marco Zangger
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The Zurich Opera House has canceled performances by soprano Anna Netrebko.
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As stated in a statement on Tuesday, the artist has also come to the conclusion that she does not want to sing the performances in Zurich given the current situation.
Already on the day following Putin’s invasion, the first demands were made to immediately terminate the engagement with the Russian soprano Anna Netrebko for two performances at the end of March in the Zurich Opera House. An appearance by Anna Netrebko should only take place if she immediately distanced herself from Russia and Putin.
“We didn’t think the time pressure of this demand was fair and we deliberately gave the artist space to reflect on the situation and to find and articulate her own position on the events,” the opera house wrote in a statement on Tuesday.
Now the opera house has decided to cancel Netrebko’s two performances: “We have to realize that our firm condemnation of Vladimir Putin and his actions on the one hand and Anna Netrebko’s public position on the other are not compatible.”
“We rate the artist’s statement positively”
In a statement on Saturday evening, Netrebko expressly condemned the war in Ukraine and expressed her sympathy for the people in the war-torn region. “We rate this statement by the artist positively and note that she was unable to distance herself from Vladimir Putin beyond that,” the statement continues.
The artist also came to the conclusion that she did not want to sing the performances in Zurich given the current situation. The role of Lady Macbeth in the performances on March 26 and 29 will be performed by Veronika Dzhioeva. Visitors to these performances will be contacted directly. The difference between E prices and Gala prices will be refunded.
Further concerts cancelled
Netrebko announced on Tuesday through the organizer River Concerts that she will cancel all concerts for the coming months. “After careful consideration, I have made the extremely difficult decision to withdraw from concert life for the time being,” says the star soprano. “It’s not the right time for me to perform and play music. I hope that my audience will understand this decision.”
Last year the soprano, who also lives in Vienna, celebrated her 50th birthday with a big gala in the Kremlin Palace in Moscow. At the four-hour concert, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov read out congratulations from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who paid tribute to Netrebko’s internationally admired singing skills.
As German media reports, the Russian conductor Valeri Gergiev has lost his job as head of the Munich Philharmonic because of his friendship with Putin. He was fired with immediate effect. According to media reports, other concert organizers have also canceled Gergiev’s performances.
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(DPA)